New Housing: Swift Bricks

Debate between Matt Vickers and Siobhan Baillie

Monday 10th July 2023 Westminster Hall

[Matt Vickers]

That is a very good point, and it is one that Guy Anderson, from the RSPB’s migrant recovery programme, has made in response to the Government. He has said that he cannot see any reason why swift bricks would be inappropriate in any development in the UK. He says:

“there may be some buildings where the design...makes it...less likely...to ever be used by swifts...however, even if...not used by swifts...red-listed house sparrows, red-listed starlings or red-listed house martins may use them”.

I would therefore urge the Government to look again at the policy and at what can be done to either enforce or encourage the delivery of more swift bricks in homes across the country.

To end on a brighter note, there are now many examples of swift bricks being used. One of the largest installations of swift bricks has taken place across the Duchy of Cornwall estate. The “Big Duchy Bird Box Survey” showed that, across all of the newly installed swift bricks from 2015 onwards, almost half had been used.

[Siobhan Baillie (Stroud) (Con)]

I want to give credit to the RSPB for this campaign, but also to the Stroud Valleys Project, which has been a really strong campaigner on this. It does things such as a “Swift Walk” around Minchinhampton common, which is absolutely fantastic. I wholly endorse the proposals for changes in terms of local authorities and planning, but what I want to hear from my hon. Friend is a real gee-up for everybody who is promoting the protection of these species, because there is actually a lot going on in many of our communities. I am not down on the swift boxes, by the way; while homeowners do not necessarily have the bricks, they can look to have the boxes. I think that this is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate these birds.

[Matt Vickers]

One thing to say about this petition is that, while there are lots of petitions that people sign because it is in their own interests, for the 109,000 people who signed this petition, this was not necessarily in their personal interests but was something that they saw as being in our natural interest and as a huge game changer for the country.

We can combine that result from the “Big Duchy Bird Box Survey” with other large-scale installations that have taken place. Barratt Homes is leading the way and doing its bit, going above and beyond. It has installed boxes on a huge number of sites, and it reckons that as many as 96% are being used, with that percentage increasing over time.

There is plenty of climate anxiety to go round at the moment. Unlike Hannah, I am not going to take my clothes off, and nor am I going to go round chucking orange powder and confetti everywhere, but I will leave Members with this thought. In a survey carried out by Lancet Planetary Health into climate anxiety among children and young people, around 60% of those young people said they feel extremely worried about climate change and our natural environment. This proposal is an opportunity to help to save four species at minimal cost and inconvenience. It is welcomed by the public and by developers, and it is time to get on with it before it is too late.